Breaking Earth’s shell into a global plate network

C. A. Tang; A. A. G. Webb; W. B. Moore; Y. Y. Wang; T. H. Ma; T. T. Chen

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17480-2

Nature Communications (Jul 2020)

Breaking Earth’s shell into a global plate network

C. A. Tang,
A. A. G. Webb,
W. B. Moore,
Y. Y. Wang,
T. H. Ma,
T. T. Chen

Affiliations

C. A. Tang: State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology
A. A. G. Webb: Division of Earth and Planetary Science and Laboratory for Space Research, University of Hong Kong
W. B. Moore: Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Hampton University
Y. Y. Wang: Deep Underground Engineering Research Center, Dalian University of Technology
T. H. Ma: State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology
T. T. Chen: School of Resources and Civil Engineering, Northeastern University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17480-2
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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How Earth’s lithosphere first divided into tectonic plates remains uncertain. Here, the authors use 3D spherical shell models to demonstrate that anticipated warming of the early lithosphere should lead to thermal expansion and the initiation of a global network of rifts, dividing the lithosphere into tectonic plates.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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